The Minority Rights Coalition, Office of the Dean of Students, Chief Diversity Officer Bill Harvey and other University organizations joined together last night to sponsor Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington's keynote address of the MRC's "Hoos Got Privilege" Week.
Washington has served as an administrator and educator at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and is the president and founder of a multicultural organizational development firm in Baltimore, Md.,known as the Washington Consulting Group.
Joy Pugh, program coordinator for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, said her organization chose to sponsor the event because it involves a very diverse group of University community members.
"It's better when folks are taking the broader view of diversity," Pugh said. "It's not just about queer people or black people; it's about all these groups coming together."
MRC Chair Adrienne Patton agreed, saying the program "talks about diversity in all its forms, not just black and white."
Washington said his goal for the evening was to begin the conversation among University students about privilege and power in society and to deepen community leaders' understanding of how to create a diverse, accepting environment.
Washington explained that privilege is the automatic result of membership in a preferred group in society.
"People treat you based on group membership until you get known as an individual," Washington said.
All members of society have some kind of privilege, whether they are aware of it or not, Washington said.
During a group discussion, students shared experiences with each other regarding their experiences with privilege and discrimination in to several categories including race, gender, religion and sexual preference.
Washington said there are "dominated and subordinated group patterns" evident in society. Dominated groups, for example, are considered "normal," can set societal norms and are often unaware of their dominance. Subordinated group members, however, spend a great deal of time trying to fit in and often have their experiences questioned and invalidated by dominant group members, Washington explained.
At the end of his address, Washington said progress can be made through "7 C's to creating a strong, diverse community," which include gaining consciousness, understanding context, understanding choices, finding and exercising courage, assessing and gaining competence, operating with confidence and creating the world one wants.
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